Pirate 101: Book 3: What Happened Before
by Dr.Musketeer23
Summary: It's finally time for Morgan and Sirena's wedding. While preparing for their newest member's parent's big day, the crew of the Golden Archer reminisce about everything that happened before the fight against the Armada. You've heard of these famous moments; from the Battle of Rajah to the Diablo Cut, not a moment is without action. And with a new threat looming, memories are welcome
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Why are we here?" Pedro followed a short distance behind Tauros and Hannah. They had been working for a week building the golden clockworks. Now, they found themselves on the shores of Darkmoor. "There's nothing here except ducks and lagoonies."

"The man we're seeking has been around for a long time. He is able to harness pure dark energy; it keeps him young and increases his power in combat. He will be guaranteed to help us." Tauros stopped at a wall and touched his golden arm to a small hole near the center. "He has a score to settle with Skull Island; especially Mr. Silver." The personality matrix drew his sword and stabbed it into the hole. He twisted the blade twice to the right, then to the left. A doorway opened up, revealing a large room with two couches and a table in the center.

"This is a nice place." Hannah entered the room. She moved her arm over the edge of the table, feeling the smooth wood of the table.

"I'm glad you appreciate it." A man walked down a set of stairs while Tauros and Pedro entered the room. "Blaze. You're the last person I expected to come looking for me."

"I'm not Blaze." Tauros flashed Blaze's eyes a dark purple color. "Everything is, more or less, going according to plan. How have you been Flint?" Flint took a bottle of yum from the bar on the far side of the room.

"I'd be better if I could reclaim what is rightfully mine." A pitch black aura quickly shimmered around him. "Skull Island belongs to me. I want it back. I don't care how many pirates I have to kill to get it. I especially want to kill the other son of Avery. He is the only thing stopping me from gaining all the power in the Spiral." Flint emptied a bit of the bottle into a small cylindrical glass.

"You'll have your chance, but we'll need more than the four of us and our squadron of golden clockworks to take back Skull Island. Are any of your old crew still available?" Flint took a sip of the yum and set the glass down on the table.

"They'll be here in a couple of hours. I'd like to know what events have transpired since I was banished from Skull Island. All I know is that Avery is dead and his son now controls the island."

"It's a long story." Pedro took a seat on the couch next to Tauros. Flint poured drinks for the other three pirates.

"We've got plenty of time."


	2. Chapter 1 First Encounter

Ch. 1 First Encounter

"Hey, Adam," Ryan asked, "How are you coming along? We're all waiting for you." A week had passed since they had returned to Skull Island and the day had come for Serena and Morgan's wedding. Ryan opened to door to Adam's office.

"Sorry," Adam set something on the desk, "I was just checking on something." Adam straightened to tie on the tuxedo he had purchased for the occasion. "Alright, I'm ready." Ryan shook his head.

"You know, Lenora's parents were kind enough to invite the rest of us, but you need to impress them. They still don't know you're with their daughter." Ryan took Adam's sword off of his belt. "That means no weapons tonight."

"I know." Adam rubbed his face. "It just feels weird; I'm so used to dealing with problems by blowing them up, but now I have to use social skills." Adam sighed, "Maybe I just shouldn't go."

"Oh, no." Ryan shook Adam. "You're Merciless Adam Silver. You've dealt with hundreds of clockworks; you can handle a wedding." Adam laughed.

"Hundreds of clockworks. That reminds me of how we first met."

"Question me all you want; I'm not saying a word to the machines that attacked my people." Ryan sat in his cell. Deacon, one of Kane's elite clockworks, stood outside of the cell with a marine at his side.

"You'll talk eventually. They always do." As Deacon motioned the marine away, two marksmen carried a chained pirate into the cell block. "Ah, the new prisoner. Do you have anything to say?" The pirate wore brown boots, red ranger garbs with ammunition straps going from his right shoulder to his left hip, and a red tricorne hat. His brown hair was short and parted to the left. His brown eyes stared at the clockwork.

"I won't be here long. I've had plenty of time to think about how I'll break out. You were lucky I sacrificed myself to save my crewmates. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here." The young pirate spat in the clockwork's face.

"Put this repulsive creature with the assassin. I'm sure they'll make good friends." The marksmen threw him into the cell and closed the door. "Enjoy each other's company."

"Prick." The young pirate turned to the assassin, who donned black assassin's garbs with black boots and a hood which was taken down. He noticed despair in the assassin's hazel eyes. "I'm Merciless Adam Silver." Adam held out his right hand. Ryan studied the hand and smiled.

"Ryan. Witty Ryan Dodger." The two prisoners shook hands and started talking. "How'd you get here?"

"I was on a supply run with two witchdoctor sisters to get weaponry for Marleybone, but we were ambushed and I sacrificed myself to help them escape. I was on other ships for a few days and now I'm here. You?" Ryan looked at the wing tattoo on his wrist, marking his rank as a master assassin.

"I'm an assassin. I was trained in Hamamitsu by Ninja Pigs alongside my friend, Sly Pedro Davis. I ended up training a young assassin named Ruthless William Armstrong. Then the clockworks came. They attacked Hamamitsu. I told Pedro and William to flee with my wife, Autumn, to Skull Island. I stayed and fought the clockworks with some rogue pirates. They all died and I was captured when I almost terminated Deacon. I've been a prisoner for three weeks." Days passed and the two pirates talked about their training and how they hadn't had a decent conversation in years. Then, Adam found a piece of scrap metal lying on the ground of their cell.

"Ryan," Adam said, "Hold out your chains." Ryan stretched his arms and watched as Adam cut through the metal. "Now do the same to me." Adam held his chains as Ryan cut them. They two pirates stood up and looked at the cell door. Adam looked at the shard of metal. "Maybe I can cut through the bars if I have enough-" Adam was cut off by the wall exploding behind them. "That works too." The pirates walked through the opening and found themselves in the ships armory. Ryan grinned.

"They really shouldn't leave weapons lying around with a trained assassin and gunman aboard." Ryan found his daggers and strapped them to his belt. Adam retrieved his rifle, pistols, and a few bombs that had been stored in the room. "You ready to get out of here?"

"Let's go." The two pirates left the main door of the armory and found themselves in another cell block.

"Hey, you there," a voice called out, "Can you help me?" A young crane held onto the bars of his cell. "I've been trapped here for weeks." Ryan walked to the prisoner.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Wing Chun. I am a student studying the ancient arts of Mooshu hand-to-hand combat. Deacon captured me when I was studying ancient texts in Skull Island territory." Wing looked at the musketeer. "If you free me, I will fight with you and help to escape this cursed vessel." Adam smiled.

"Stand back." Adam placed a small bomb on the lock of the door. He pushed a button on his pistol and watched as the lock exited the ship. "Welcome to our little group." The three allies worked their way to the deck of the ship. As the sunlight blinded them, they managed to see Deacon howling orders to the clockwork marines and marksmen.

"Kill the pirates. We can't let them free our prisoners." Deacon turned and saw the three escapees at the opposite end of the ship. "Kill the prisoners!" Ryan and Adam drew their weapons and charged into the array of mechanical monstrosities. Ryan saw a clockwork coming behind Adam and stabbed it in the head with his right dagger.

"Thanks Ryan." Adam pointed his rifle at Ryan. "Duck!" Ryan crouched down and saw a clockwork marine get blown to bits behind him. Adam grabbed a rope. "I'll be back. Get the rest of the pirates off this ship." Adam shot a connection cable and flew through the air shooting clockworks until he reached the crow's nest. Ryan ran and started telling pirates to retreat to the ship. Wing carried the injured over the boarding planks. There was one pirate who was fighting his way toward Deacon.

"You took away my master. It's time for payback!" Ryan recognized the voice. It was Will.

"Will! Get back to your ship, now!" Will crushed a clockwork's head under his foot and turned to face his master.

"Ryan? Is that you?" Ryan quickly embraced his student and dragged him to the boarding planks.

"Yes, it's me. Now, hurry; we have to go!" The pair crossed to Will's ship. Will did a head count.

"All of my men are here." Ryan looked around, but couldn't find Adam. He looked to Deacon's flagship and saw Adam with his hands behind his head, kneeling on the ground.

"No, Adam." Ryan started to run to the boarding planks, but stopped when he saw Adam's left index finger stand up. He looked at Adam's belt and saw a detonator. Then he remembered the bombs they had left in the armory.

"Any last words, Mr. Silver?" Deacon pointed his pistol at Adam's head.

"Yes, actually. Don't underestimate a pirate who lost his family to the Armada." Adam reached for the detonator and activated it. Immediately, red lights flickered on the clockworks surrounding him. Deacon noticed this and ran to the Armada skiff attached to the galleon. Adam jumped over the edge of the ship and shot his pistol at the hull of Will's ship. A grappling hook attached itself near the bottom and Ryan watched as his new friend reappeared on the opposite side of the pirate frigate. "Oh, man. I lost my hat." Adam shrugged, "Oh well."

"Will, meet Merciless Adam Silver. He was captured by the Armada, too. He's the reason we managed to escape our cell." Will shook the musketeer's hand.

"Any friend of my master is a friend of mine."

"Will, it's just Ryan." Ryan suddenly realized his student was alive. "Will, what happened to Autumn? And Pedro?" Will smiled.

"You can ask them yourself. They're both safe on Skull Island."

"Hey, Ryan," Adam called out. The assassin walked to his friend. "When we get to Skull Island, I'm going to start a new crew. Would you be interested in joining?"

"I'd be honored, but Will would have to follow. I need to help him finish his training."

"The more the merrier. It's great to have you."

"Adam." Wing walked up behind the captain. "You saved my life. That is a debt I will never be able to repay. I would be honored if you would allow me to join your crew." Ryan raised his eyebrow.

"It seems you've gotten quite popular."

"That's how our crew started." Adam looked at what he'd set down on his desk. It was a picture of his crew. "It feels like years since our crew was made up of twenty different people from different realms. Now, it's just ten." Adam looked out the window at the rebuilt houses and taverns. "So much has changed in the past few months. How do you prepare for nothing?"

"You don't." Ryan looked out at the sky. Not a cloud was in sight. "Peace is a funny thing. You spend your whole life trying to defend it and bring it to everyone else, but when you finally have peace, it's hard to enjoy it." Ryan turned to Adam. "But there is always one thing that will give you a reason to let yourself enjoy it while it lasts. And your reason's parents are getting married in a few hours. Don't let something like this ruin your chances with her." Adam patted his friend's right shoulder.

"Thanks, Ryan. That really helped." Adam picked up a pistol and put it inside his jacket.

"Leave the pistol." Adam turned around and tossed the pistol to Ryan. "Now go get to the church."


	3. Chapter 2 Mistake

Ch. 2 Mistake

"Autumn, can you help me zip up my dress?" Lenora was wearing a beautiful white dress with a red bow around the waist with red flame patterns highlighting the dress.

"Sure." Autumn walked to the young pirate. She started zipping up the back of Lenora's dress. "So, there's going to be dancing at the reception. That'll be you and Adam's first dance." Lenora chuckled.

"I'm not the best dancer. Besides," Lenora said, "I talked to Adam, and we're going to treat tonight like it's a first date."

"Then you should know this: Adam can't dance either." Autumn chuckled at the thought. "The last time he tried dancing, he knocked over a potted plant. It was a mistake of course, he didn't know the plant was there." Autumn looked at the ground, still chuckling. "A mistake."

Autumn woke up in her apartment on Skull Island. She looked at a picture on the table by her bed. "Oh, Ryan." The widowed pirate quickly showered, put on some clothes, and ran out the door. It was time for her usual routine of finding a captain. She walked down the sandy slopes of Skull Island, but stopped when she heard a voice call her name.

"Hey Autumn." Pedro walked up to the young pirate with a sword in hand. "You left this at my place yesterday. Wouldn't want you walking around defenseless, would we?" Autumn blushed as she took her sword from the buccaneer. When the weapon was on her belt, Pedro pulled her close and kissed her. "I'll see you when you get back from your doomed venture."

"You never know. There could be a captain hiring." Pedro walked with Autumn down to the docks. "Honestly, Pedro, I don't know why you hope I'll never find a captain."

"Because the longer it takes you to find a captain, the longer I'll have with you." A pirate shoved past Pedro and Autumn. "Hey, watch where you're going!" The pirate turned and apologized.

"Sorry, but the scouting ship just returned. They managed to rescue some Armada prisoners. I'm going to see if they need some help unloading." The musketeer took some medical supplies and headed to the docks. "Again, sorry. I'm Brave Alaric Bellamy. If you're ever looking for a captain, I'm heading to Rajah in a few days." Autumn shook his hand.

"I may take you up on that offer." The musketeer left. Autumn and Pedro continued to the docks and saw the ship the captain had been talking about. Will walked off the ship, carrying an injured pirate. "Hey Will, I heard you rescued some Armada prisoners. Good work." Autumn looked around. "Did they leave already?"

"They're still here and they're here to stay." Will helped the injured pirate to the life fountain. Autumn saw the rest of the scouting pirates walk down the ship's boardwalk. Then, a new pirate caught her eye. The pirate held himself high with his red overcoat, pistols, and rifle. She turned to his right and saw another pirate, wearing black assassin's garbs with red highlights.

"Ryan!" She ran towards her husband and tackled him to the ground. Ryan grabbed her face and treated her to a long passionate kiss. Autumn refused to let go. "I've missed you so much." Autumn started crying.

"I've missed you too." Ryan held her close as the pair stood up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Pedro-" Autumn froze. She turned and saw Pedro with a pained look in his eyes. In a matter of seconds, she'd been reunited with Ryan and left Pedro. "Pedro got me and Will out of Mooshu." Ryan let go of Autumn and went over to Pedro.

"Thank you for saving my wife." Pedro rubbed the back of his neck.

"It was nothing. Just doing what I thought was right." Pedro waited until Ryan turned back to Autumn then mouthed the words, "I love you," to Autumn.

Autumn rested her head on Ryan's shoulder and shook her head, "No." Pedro huffed and stormed away.

"Oh, Autumn. This is Merciless Adam Silver. He's a captain who is hiring pirates to join his crew. Interested?" Autumn smiled.

"Anything to get back at the Armada. They need to pay for taking you away from me." Adam stretched out his right hand.

"Welcome aboard, Mrs. Dodger." Will came running back to the docks.

"Adam, Captain Avery is the leader of Skull Island. He's dealing with a Troggy attack and would like to speak with you immediately."

"Alright. Ryan, Autumn, care to start our first mission as a team?"

"I'm coming too." Will stated, "Now that Ryan's back, he can continue my training. And the Island can do without one scouting ship; we're spread thin enough as it is."

"Then let's head out."

"Pedro joined us after we dealt with the Troggies. Then he came back with a vengeance." Autumn looked at the daughter of the bride. "It's my fault Pedro betrayed us. It's my fault Pedro survived. It's my fault Avery died. It's all my fault."

"No, it's not." Lenora walked to the married pirate. "Pedro made his choice. He should be happy that he had you for a little while. He knew your heart always belonged to Ryan. He chose the wrong way to deal with it." Autumn wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I just feel like my whole role in the journey has been to cause pain. I don't want to cause any more pain." Autumn composed herself and turned to Lenora. "Alright, grab my waist."

"What?"

"I'm going to teach you how to dance. Now, grab my waist."


	4. Chapter 3 Following Orders

Ch. 3 Following Orders

Adam ran his right hand along his father's old desk. "I still remember the last time I talked to him in here." Sagittarius appeared over his left shoulder.

"What did you talk about?"

"I hadn't known he was my father. We were discussing getting more help after my crew's trip to Aquila."

"Ah, Adam, you're back. And you brought Catbeard, too. Great work." Adam leaned on his right hip.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy getting him on board." Adam glared at Catbeard. "We've got three pieces to the map now. Kane still has his two. That just leaves two out in the Spiral."

"While you were away, I checked in with some of my old contacts. The government of Rajah recently uncovered an ancient parchment in the tomb of the infamous Erika the Red. I have no doubt that this is the reason the Armada has diverted forces to its capital of Bolly." Ryan stepped forward.

"We have more information, too, sir." Ryan pulled a photograph of an old man, wrinkles covering his face with a monocle over his right eye. "This man is the Toy Maker. He created the clockworks. We know he is in hiding in Valencia and he has a way to stop the clockworks once and for all." Avery studied the photo and threw it back at the assassin.

"This man knows nothing about the clockworks. We need to focus on getting that map piece. Head to the island of Bolly. Rajah has said they are in dire need of help. They've offered their support if we can thin the clockworks attacking the capital." Adam walked up to Avery.

"Sir, how do you know that he doesn't know anything?"

"I just know. Okay?" Avery snapped. Avery moved his hand to his face. "Look, Adam, I'm going to be busy coordinating supplies and fighters with the other Spiral realms. I need you to get to Rajah, help them, get the map piece, and get back. I'll explain everything to you when you get back." Adam, Ryan, and Catbeard started to walk out when Avery called out, "Catbeard, I need to talk to you." Catbeard went back as Adam and Ryan left the building.

"What do you think that was about? Why wouldn't he want us to chase a lead on the clockworks?" Ryan was perplexed by the pirate lord's condemning tone.

"It doesn't matter." Adam stated, "We'll do what he said, but we're going to make a stop in Valencia. We can't pass up this opportunity." The pair walked down the steps to the bottom of Avery's Court. As Adam hit the last step, he froze. His mind filled with images of the Spiral in ruins. There was a blaze of fire and he was in the center. Alongside him was a translucent purple figure.

"You will burn, Mr. Silver. You and all of your pirate friends!" With those words, Adam's vision ended in flames.

"No!" Adam awoke from his trance and reached for the flask of yum on his belt. He drank the substance and became relieved that the vision was not real.

"Adam," Ryan reached for his friend. "Are you alright?" Adam continued panting.

"I… I don't know. What was that?" Adam couldn't remove the image of destruction from his mind.

"What did you see?" Ryan listened as Adam explained what he saw. He could tell the vision was troubling Adam. "It sounds like you saw a version of the end of this conflict. An end where the clockworks wipe out everyone."

"Yeah, but what was that glowing purple figure?" Adam and Ryan continued walking. "Look, it doesn't matter. Get the rest of the crew. We need to get to Rajah. The sooner we finish up there, the sooner we get to Valencia."

"The last thing I did for my dad was disobey his orders. I had my crew go to Valencia on a wild goose chase. Blaze attacked Skull Island, killed my dad, and still got away with his clockworks. I know it was a mistake now, but it sometimes makes me question if I could've done anything to fix it."

"No, there isn't." Sagittarius shook his holographic head. "Avery may have meant well, but he was stubborn. You did what you thought was right. That's all any of us can do. That's why I locked Blaze out of my system; I didn't think it was right for him to relive painful memories." Sagittarius expanded his size to Adam's. "Now come on. We've got some practice to catch up on."


	5. Chapter 4 Rajah's Last Admiral

Ch. 4 Rajah's Last Admiral

"Agh. Son of a skysnake!" Brave sat on the horizontal column of the mast of his new ship. He was working on prepping the ship for maximum speed.

"Need some help?" Brave looked down and saw Will, dressed in a tuxedo with his daggers on his belt. Brave nodded and Will teleported up. "You do know you got an invitation, too, right?"

"I understand, but I still haven't found my daughter. She's more important to me than anything else right now." Brave hammered a nail to keep the mast in place. "I've left her alone in the world for too long; it's time I started being a father."

"The way you said that reminds me of when we first met."

"Push forward! We need to get off the docks." Adam reloaded his rifle and shot at the oncoming clockworks. Ryan and Will were sneaking around the sides to flank the oncoming battalion. "Catbeard, stop eating fish!" Catbeard swallowed the small sardine that was currently in his mouth.

"Sorry! I eat when I'm scared." Catbeard drew his sword and stood in front of Adam, deflecting the oncoming spark bullets.

"Ryan, you almost ready?" Pedro threw his axe, slamming five clockworks into the ground. Pedro ran to his axe and picked it up. He span in a circle, cutting ten marines in half at the waist. "We're losing ground out here!" As Pedro said this, the oncoming clockworks were blown up by a spark blast. Ryan and Will ran out of the smoke.

"Happy now?" Ryan turned and saw a slowly melting clockwork exiting from the smoke. He pulled out a throwing knife and threw it square between the clockwork's eye holes. "We've got an opening. Let's go!" Ryan and the rest of the crew ran down the streets of the Island of Bolly. They snuck past a clockwork patrol by moving into an alleyway. As they ran through the small crevice, something grabbed Ryan and pulled him into a building. Autumn drew her sword and charged after her husband.

"Ryan!" Ryan was kneeling on the floor in front of a masked figure wielding a Rajan sniper rifle.

"Stay where you are!" The sniper pointed his rifle at Autumn. "I just need information." Adam and the remaining crew members ran into building, weapons drawn.

"You're outnumbered, bud." Adam moved to Ryan and helped him up. Ryan drew his daggers and put them up in a defensive position. The masked sniper began to chuckle.

"You don't know how wrong you are." The man clapped and every light in the room lit up, revealing a man in clockwork armor, and hundreds of Kurghan soldiers. "Now, I'll ask you the same thing I asked your friend: Who are you?" Adam turned to Catbeard. Catbeard nodded.

"My name is Merciless Adam Silver and this is my crew. We were sent by Captain Avery to retrieve the fragment of Marco Pollo's map from a man named Brave Alaric Bellamy. The man removed his mask, showing the captain a tanned, scarred face. His blue eyes stared back at Adam's brown eyes.

"I'm Alaric, but call me Brave. I'm the last technical admiral in Rajah. I'm a pirate that was hired to take back the capital."

"I remember you," Autumn said, "You bumped into me when you were heading to unload a scouting ship. You offered to take me on your crew."

"That's right," Brave responded, "So are these the people the Armada captured?" Brave motioned to Adam and Ryan. Autumn nodded in confirmation. "I guess you don't need a job anymore." Brave motioned for the crew to follow him. "We had the map piece, but it was stolen. General Yancy Ford was on guard duty when he was knocked out; clockwork battle angels stole your map piece. They also took Ford's personality matrix."

"Personality matrix?" Ryan was intrigued. Brave took out a circular device. He set it on the floor and a hologram displayed in front of them. The armored figure to the side of the room was displayed in the image. He stood in front of thousands of clockworks. The image played through, Ford drew a Rajah sparklauncher with a large kurghan blade attached at the end. He shot the launcher, destroying twenty clockworks. He charged into the fray, slashing at the army with the blade of the launcher. Half the army fell with those few slashes. As spark bullets flew toward the iron clad figure, a fiery red figure appeared over Ford's shoulder. It had the appearance of a clockwork marksman, but without its weapon. The small clockwork appeared to whisper into Ford's ear, followed by Ford spinning the launcher through the air until it smashed into the chest of a charging dragoon. He disarmed the brutish clockwork and used its cannon on the hordes of battle angels and marines entering the battlefield. The smoke cleared and Ford stood over the field of gears and wires. One clockwork was still moving on the ground, trying to get up. Ford moved over to it and smashed its head into the ground.

"Piece of metal never stood a chance." Ford moved to the group watching the hologram. "Ever since I lost Sigma, making a battle plan has been impossible. Sigma could make a plan in seconds; now it takes us hours to decide on what to do."

"So," Will started, "You're telling me that your tank of a soldier alone can't destroy that tower?" Brave pulled a piece of paper from his right pocket.

"Do you want to hear the self-inflicted casualties from the last battle?" Adam and Ryan looked at each other. They nodded yes. "2,749 dead and 7,103 wounded." Pedro, who had been standing next to Ford, took five steps to the right.

"Then what are we up against?" Bonnie asked Brave. Brave tapped the triangular device and the image changed to the tower, seen from the docks, at the center of the island.

"This is the clockwork's tower. Inside it is a factory that is mass producing battle angels, dragoons, marines, you name it, and they've got it. We've been trying to infiltrate it for weeks, but we can't find an opening. I'm pulling them out next chance I get." Adam looked at the map.

"Ryan, you're a professional when it comes to infiltration. Anything we can use?" Ryan studied the map. Brave was right, the tower looked nearly impregnable. However, Ryan knew that doors weren't the only entrance. He scoured the image until he found what he was looking for.

"There, there's a small ventilation duct on the south east corner of the tower. It's small, but a few of us should be able to make it in." Brave stopped Ryan.

"Excuse me, but us?" Brave shut off the hologram. "My men aren't helping with a suicide mission, I'm getting them out of here."

"It doesn't matter what you think." Autumn stuck her sword through Brave's pant leg. "We came to help, but we can't do this alone. These are your people we're fighting for. You may be a pirate, but you gave your ship for your employers. You don't get to just walk away." Brave removed the sword from his clothing and reactivated the hologram. "That's better."

"That ventilation shaft is several hundred feet in the air. If we're really going through with this, we'll need some air support and we'll need a distraction." Brave turned to two Kurghan soldiers. "Ali, Joe. Get Project: Aquila." Will snickered.

"I'm sorry. Joe?" The kurghan took his knife and held it to Will's throat. Will's knees gave way and he fainted. The kurghan left and returned with Ali.

"Project: Aquila. These wings have been tested twenty times and twenty times the pilot has died. If six of you are flying and six are infiltrating, you'd better make sure they're willing to risk their lives." Brave stepped forward.

"I'm going." Ryan stood forward, too.

"So am I." The two were followed by Ford, Pedro, Wing, and Bonnie.

"We have our infiltration team. Now, who's going to use the wings?" Adam stood forward.

"I've always wanted to fly. Now's as good a time as any." Ali, Joe, Ratbeard, Autumn, and Will went to his side.

"Everyone gear up. We roll out in fifteen minutes." Brave walked to the weapons bench with Ryan. "I hope you guys know the casualties are going to be high."

"The casualties will be a lot less when the Armada is taken down." Ryan sharpened his daggers. "Don't forget; I'm going into that tower with you." Ryan turned and saw Pedro talking with Ford in a dark corner of the room. "Were Ford's casualties really that high?"

"No," Brave chuckled, "higher." Adam and the other members of the flight team were getting outfitted with Project: Aquila. "Is he planning on coming back from this fight?"

"Adam fights every battle like it's his last. Take that for what it's worth.

"And a few weeks later, we're still here, going our separate ways." Brave finished tying the last knot on the mast.

"Are you sure you won't stay?" Will asked.

"It's just something I've gotta do." Brave lowered himself to the deck of the ship. Will warped down next to him.

"Then I can't let you leave without this." Will took the former Admiral's face and gave him a kiss. Brave didn't flinch. Will finally pulled away and sighed, "Okay, you can go now." Will walked off of the ship and watched as the ship pulled away from Skull Island's dock. "I love you, Brave."


	6. Chapter 5 Own the Skies

Ch. 5 Own the Skies

"Just a few more miles." Brave walked ahead of the infiltration and flight teams. Both teams turned to the sound of cannon fire. "We need to hurry. They won't last more than a few hours."

"We'll get there." Adam readied his pistols and rifle. "Let's just hope these things actually work or this'll be a short mission." The teams found their take-off building and climbed up the stairs. As they neared the top, they encountered small groups of clockwork scouts, which they disabled with ease. They exited to the roof and the flight team did a final equipment check.

"Are you sure these will work?" Autumn tightened a strap on her harness. "I don't want to fall to my death."

"Don't worry. Will and I will jump first." Pedro chimed. Will looked at his mentor and nodded. The two walked to the edge. "Are you ready?"

"No, but you're not giving me much of an option." Will wrapped his arms around Pedro's shoulders and leaned off the edge. Everyone waited for the pair to fly back up, but saw nothing. They raced to the edge and just as they looked down, Pedro and Will flew through the air. "Whooooooo!"

"Everyone, partner up!" Brave paired up with Joe. The infiltration team and flight team flew between the buildings over the battlefield until they reached the tower. Brave turned his head and saw some unexpected company. "We've got battle angels coming up behind us." He flipped around in Adam's arms and drew his sniper rifle. The admiral opened fire and shot down two battle angels. He reached for more ammo, but couldn't reach the back of his belt. Adam noticed this.

"Hold on to my hand." Adam held Brave by his right hand and reached for his pistol. Handing the admiral his side arm, Adam regained his grip. "Ratbeard,head to the ventilation shaft. Brave and I will cover you." The two turned around to draw the angels away from the rest of the team.

"Get ready, Bonnie." Ratbeard traveled up toward the shaft.

"Ay. I know what I'm doing you stubborn old rat." The fox readied her legs for the force it would take to open the cage. Ratbeard threw her into the metal cage and the fox kicked right through the opening. Bonnie activated the communicator in her ear. "The vents open. I'll be here waiting for the rest of ya."

"You heard the lady," Brave shouted, "Head to the vent!" Ryan and Autumn were the first to head up. Ryan quickly entered the opened vent and was followed by Pedro. Wing Chun's flyer, Joe, and Ford's flyer, Ali, started their climb. Two battle angels broke off from the attack on Adam and Brave to follow them. Adam saw this and turned Brave around to shoot them down. Brave shot down one, but the last angel was out of range. The angel drew her sword and sped up to meet the two pairs. As Wing entered the vent, Joe's load was lightened and could fly faster. The angel slashed, missing Joe, but damaging his right wing and completely severed Ali's wings. "They're going down!" Adam adjusted course to catch the falling tigers. Ali threw Ford up to the vent, barely managing to grip the edge of the entrance.

"Ali!" Ford watched as his flyer fell toward the ground.

"Forgive me, my general." Ali was prepared to die, but was shocked when he started flying horizontally. He looked up and saw Brave holding his arm, with Adam struggling with the extra weight. The pirate flew to the nearby building and Ali rolled onto the roof.

"Quick! We still have to get Joe!" Adam turned around just in time to see half of the remaining battle angels swarm the Rajan warrior. They heard a thunderous roar as he wrapped his arms around the clockwork flight units and dived. "No!" Brave hoped one of the other flyers would grab him, but they were preoccupied with the other clockworks.

"He died doing his duty. Now it's time for you to do yours." Brave sucked in the pain and got ready for the climb to the ventilation shaft. He quickly slid into the vent and joined the rest of his team. "Good luck." Adam took two pistols off of his belt and flew toward the most recent squadron of battle angels. "Come on guys. Time to take back the sky."


	7. Chapter 6 Tower Takedown

Ch. 6 Tower Takedown

"So what happened at the tower?" Flint poured out another glass of yum. "From what you've said, those insolent pirates should have easily taken it down." Tauros moved his golden arm and a holo device projected a readout of the tower.

"They may have had the advantage, but we had two men on the inside. One of them is sitting here with us."

"Alright, Ryan and I will go search the top levels for Sigma. Wing and Bonnie, you set charges on the middle levels. Pedro and Ford, go to the bottom levels. If you see any clockworks, take them out quietly." Brave put a fresh clip of spark bullets into his rifle. "Meet us on the roof." Sly Pedro Davis and Yancy Ford made their way to the lowest level of the tower. When they reached the bottom, Ford turned to the pirate.

"You know what we're about to do, right?" The general took a small silver gear out of his pocket: the symbol of an Armada spy. He toss the gear to Pedro.

"If this is what I need to do to get what I want, then yes." The pirate put the gear in his back pocket and the two found a squadron of clockworks. "I'll run ahead, make them think they're safe." Ford nodded and gave orders to the clockworks. They were to trap the pirates on the roof and execute them all, with the exception of Pedro and Autumn. The cunning pirate made his way to the roof of the building. When he got there, he found the other sabotage team members waiting.

"It's about time you got here," Brave quipped, "Where's Ford?" Pedro looked at Autumn then back to Brave.

"He was placing the last few charges when he told me to go ahead to the roof. He should be here soon." Brave adjusted the scope of his sniper rifle.

"He'd better be. We've gotta get out of here before we can hit the detonator." Suddenly, General Ford walked in followed by two squads of clockworks.

"Actually, Admiral," Ford began, "You're not leaving at all." Brave and Bonnie raised their rifles with everyone else raising their blades.

"Ford," Brave asked, "What's going on here?"

"I'm showing my true colors." Ford took out the silver gear and attached it to his shoulder's armor plating. "Joining the Armada is much more practical than trying to defeat them. Sigma!" The small holographic clockwork appeared over Ford's shoulder.

"You had Sigma this entire time!" Brave slowly lowered his rifle a few inches. He moved his right hand to his belt. "You son of a sky snake."

"There's no point in fighting, Admiral. You'll all be dead in a few seconds anyway."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Brave removed the cap off the cylindrical device and pushed the red button underneath it. A soft beeping sound could be heard from the device; it was the detonator. Brave fired a few shots and shouted, "Jump!" The squad made its way to the edge of the building and fell off the edge just as the explosions from the charges began. The crew started to free fall and came under fire from nearby battle angels. Brave found a piece of a wall from the building and steadied himself on the flat surface. He aimed his gun and took out two of the battle angels.

"Brave," Ryan shouted, "Look out." The admiral looked up and saw Ford diving towards him. Just as the brute was about to hit him, Brave was swooped away by something. He looked up and saw Adam carrying him through the air. He turned and saw Ratbeard grab hold of Bonnie and Wing, but saw Ryan and Pedro still free falling.

"What do we do now?" Pedro asked. Ryan stretched his arms, daggers in hand, and gained some altitude to slice the wings of the remaining battle angels. Ryan descended back down to Pedro's elevation.

"Well, that's all I've got." Ryan saw the oncoming ground and sighed. "If I had to go out one way, at least I'm going out with my oldest friend." Pedro smiled and turned away from Ryan. The two braced themselves for the oncoming doom.

"Oh, no." Autumn said as she grabbed her husband. "You're not getting off that easily." Will followed suit and grabbed Pedro. A battle angel picked up Ford before he hit the ground. Brave saw this.

"Adam, turn around." Brave had anger in his eyes. "We've got to take out Ford." Adam turned around midflight and sped up toward Ford. The battle angel flew low to the ground, over the battlefield. Adam followed the clockwork's flight path.

"No." Ford turned around and drew his spark launcher. "You will all fall." He fired and an explosion of sparks filled the battlefield, taking out clockworks and kurgans alike. Ford turned around, confident he had destroyed the admiral and his pirate ally.

"Ford!" The general turned around and saw Brave leap toward him tackling him onto the back of a moving supply cart. The spark covered admiral put his rifle on his back and prepared for hand to hand combat. "You're going to pay for your betrayal."

"I don't need to fight you." Ford signaled for his battle angel to attack the pirate, but there was no response. "What's happening?" The former general looked up and saw Adam ripping the clockwork's mechanical head from its body.

"He's all yours, Admiral." Adam drew his pistols. "I'll keep them off of you." Adam flew up and defended the cart.

"This isn't just about what you've done to this army. This is personal." Brave charged at the armor clad traitor.

"It's just business." Ford shot his spark launcher again, but Brave dodged the large caliber shot. Brave disarmed Ford and threw the launcher off the cart. Adam caught the large weapon and slashed at an incoming battle angel.

"Thanks for the assist."

"No problem, Captain." Brave turned to Ford. "This is more than business." Brave punched the general in his arm. "I could be back with my daughter right now." Brave kicked Yancy's feet out from under him. "I could be having a normal life." Ford swept at Brave's feet and pinned him to the ground.

"War is war, Admiral. It's time you learned that." Ford struck with a right hook to Brave's face, followed immediately by a left hook to the opposite side, continuing with this pattern while talking. "I'm a survivor. You're a coward. If surviving means taking out a coward, I'll do it. If killing you is how I live, I'll do it." With one more punch, Brave passed out, unaware of what was going on around him. Ford got off of him and took the pistol from Brave's belt. "It's a shame, really. I could have used a human second-in-command." He pointed his pistol at Brave's forehead, ready to kill.

"No!" Ford turned and saw Adam charge into him from the air. The young pirate hovered in the air above Brave. "You betrayed your people. You will not win this fight." Ford jumped and grabbed Adam's wings. He tossed him to the ground and snapped the flight gear in two. Adam took out his pistols and shot at the former general. The armor clad warrior ran toward the pirate and smacked away the spark bullets. Meanwhile, Brave was coming to. He saw Ford wailing on Adam.

"You thought you could defeat me?" Ford laughed, "I'm am Rajah's greatest warrior. No one can stop me." He held Adam by the neck with his right hand.

"Ford!" The traitor turned around and saw Brave with a lightning blue aura surrounding his body. The Admiral was breathing heavily as electricity grew at his fingertips. "Come on!" Adam flicked his left pistol and a blade popped out of the hilt. He stabbed it into Ford's arm and escaped his grasp.

"Ah." Ford gasped as he held his bleeding arm. "Sigma, what do I do?" The holographic clockwork scanned the wound.

"We can't let this go untreated. I suggest surrender."

"I have a better idea." Brave formed two balls of electricity in his hands and threw them at Ford. "You fry." Ford's metallic armor instantly drew the lightning to it. Ford fell to the ground; a pile of smoking metal and flesh. The traitor coughed.

"Is that all you've got?" He chuckled, "It'll take a lot more than that to…" Brave stood over him holding the same pistol Ford was ready to kill him with.

"Shut up." Brave unloaded the six rounds of spark bullets into the general's throat. Ford held his throat, unable to speak. A slight gurgling sound erupted form his mouth. Sigma was still active and translated.

"I will end you." Adam came up behind the general and pistol whipped him upside the head.

"No, you won't." The pirate holstered his twin pistols and went over to Brave who was still aiming his gun at Ford. He took the pistol from the Admiral's hand. "Are you alright?"

"No," Brave shook his head, "What did I do? How did I create that electricity out of nothing?" Adam had no answer.

"I don't know," Adam admitted, "But whatever it is, the clockworks should be scared of it; of you." Adam turned back to Ford, lying unconscious on the bed of the supply cart. "We should kill him."

"No." Brave pulled Adam back. "I unloaded a full clip into his throat. That much electricity coursing through his vocal cords would do more than fry them. He'll never speak again." Brave turned toward the battlefield and saw the fighting had stopped. The kurghan forces were celebrating along with their rogue pirate allies. He saw Ali make his was to Joe's body. The only casualty of what was expected to be a bloody battle. "He's suffering a fate worse than death. Let him suffer."

"Alright then," Adam nodded, "Let's go." The two got off of the supply cart and told two soldiers to take Ford to the mobile medical bay and lock him up.

"An impressive feat." Flint set down his glass. "I'd have expected nothing less from a Silver. And you," he pointed to Pedro, "managed to keep your cover."

"Ryan," Pedro grinned, "Was the one who needed to be worried."


	8. Chapter 7 Set Up

Ch. 7 Set Up

"Hey Pedro," Ryan shouted to his best friend, "Come on. Adam says we're heading out. He wants to make a quick stop somewhere before going back to Skull Island."

"Be right there." Pedro quickly hid the silver gear in his right shirt sleeve. The pirate picked up his axe and followed Ryan. "Where could he have us going?"

"Beats me," Ryan shrugged, "But anywhere is better than here." Adam was standing next to Brave at the mobile command center. There was a piece of paper in Captain Silver's hand. Adam turned and saw the two Mooshu assassins.

"Guess what we've got." He put the paper on the table; a piece of Marco Pollo's map. "Our good friend, General Yancy Ford, had it on him."

"Where is the general?" Pedro asked.

"We have him in lock-up," Brave responded, "Maximum security. No one can escape from there. Not even an assassin."

"Well," Pedro said as he patted Ryan's back, slipping the silver gear into the hood of his garb, "It's a good thing we're on your side."

"As far as we know." Brave signaled two Kurghan soldiers toward the pair of assassins. "Ford couldn't have betrayed us alone. He had to have someone else working with him. We've searched everyone else; it's just you two left." Ali patted down Pedro, but found nothing.

"He's clear." He moved to Ryan and immediately saw the gleam of the silver gear in his hood. "Take him to maximum security."

"What!?" Ryan shouted in disbelief. The other two Kurghan soldiers gripped his hands and restrained him. Adam stood there in disbelief too.

"There's got to be some mistake. Ryan's my friend; there's no way he could have done any of this. He has no motivation to betray us."

"I don't take chances anymore, Captain." Brave turned to the assassin. "Until we can be certain, you will have to remain here." The assassin struggled against his guards.

"You're making a mistake." The soldiers dragged him to maximum security. A few hours went by and Ryan still sat quietly in his cell. "Locked up again." Then, he heard a door open and close. Pedro walked up to the cell door.

"I can't believe they locked you up." Pedro stated. "This isn't right."

"You're right," Ryan stood up, "It isn't. Pedro, you know I'm innocent. I've never done anything to betray Adam or any of our allies." Ryan slammed the wall to his left. "It must have been Ford. He planted the gear on me, but I don't know when he could have done it; I was never alone with him; I never even stood near him." He turned back to Pedro. "The only people that have been near me recently are my wife and you." A thought occurred to Ryan as a grin formed on Pedro's face.

"Every traitor needs a fall guy, Ryan." Pedro chuckled, "I could have picked anyone, really. But you have something I want." Ryan leaned against his cell's bars.

"You?" He refused to believe his best friend would betray him. "What did I do to you?"

"You took Autumn from me." Pedro turned from the assassin and walked away. "Enjoy your cell. I'd give Autumn your best wishes, but she'd just get suspicious."

"You won't get away with this."

"I already have." Pedro walked out of the maximum security prison.

"Well?" Adam and Autumn had waited for Pedro to come out, expecting Ryan to have said something. "Did he say anything?"

"Not a word. He just sat there in silence." He put his hand on Autumn's shoulder. "I'm sorry this happened. I still don't believe it." The three pirates walked away.

"You three go ahead," Adam turned to go back to the mobile command center, "I want to have one last word with Brave."

"Ryan was supposed to stay locked up in that cell for the rest of his miserable life." Pedro reminisced on the memory that never came to be. "Luck, I suppose. He won't be lucky this time."


	9. Chapter 8 Change of Course

Ch. 8 Change of Course

"Adam," Ryan said as he walked into Avery's old office, "Are you ready?" As he closed the door, the assassin stifled a laugh at the sight of his captain dancing with the recently acquired personality matrix. "Should I come back later?"

"Um," Adam stuttered, "This isn't what it looks like. Sagittarius, go ahead and take a few minutes." The personality matrix shut down. Ryan continued to stare at his captain with a smug grin on his face. "I'm still learning, okay! I'm not used to this kind of formal event."

"It's alright." Ryan continued to stifle his laughter. "Come on, everyone is waiting for you."

"Jeez," Adam expelled a breath of air, "You'd think I'd gone and done something stupid like change the plan."

"Captain," Bonnie called out from the wheel of the ship, "I think you've got the destination wrong; we're supposed to meet up with Avery at Skull Island. You've got us heading into Valencia."

"I know," Adam responded, "We're not going home just yet." Pedro was confused. "Avery may not think it's important, but we need to find the Toymaker. He knows how to stop the clockworks."

"I don't know Adam," Autumn expressed her concerns, "What if Avery's right and they really don't know anything. We'd be walking into a trap."

"I'm with you Adam," Catbeard said, "Avery will just have to wait. If there is a chance, we must take it."

"I don't know." Pedro didn't like the thought of having to return to the heart of the Armada. Especially after defecting to them. "It still sounds risky."

"Doesn't matter," Ratbeard chimed, "If the Cap'n says we're headed to Valencia, we're headed to Valencia."

"Aye, alright." Bonnie repositioned the wheel to take them back toward Monquista. "We'll be there in a few hours." Adam walked back into his cabin. He locked the door and turned on a triangular holo device on his desk.

"It's about time," Brave said, "I've been trying to contact you for hours."

"I'm sorry," apologized Adam, "I've been trying to get my crew to head to Valencia. How close are you to Monquista?"

"I can be there in about two hours," answered Brave, "We'll meet you in the Diablo Cut. If you can temporarily stop the ship there, this'll be easy. I still need to get Ryan out of maximum security."

"Just get Ryan out of there." As Adam said this, a Kurghan warrior appeared on the holo. He whispered something into Brave's ear. Brave loaded a pistol with his right hand. "What's going on?"

"Your friend is trying to break out on his own. I'm going to find him before he kills someone."

"When you find him, tell him that the first thing I noticed about him was the wing tattoo on his wrist."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Alright. I will."

"Keep in mind that my insanity did help you." Adam stated this with conviction. "My ability to see through Pedro's lie helped you escape."

"I will give you that." Ryan agreed. "However, you still took your sweet time about it."

"Whatever," Adam responded, "At least you got out."


	10. Chapter 9 Prison Break

Ch. 9 Prison Break

"Dearly beloved," the priest spoke, "We are gathered here today to see Sneaky Sirena Jones and Dead-eye Morgan Smith united in holy matrimony." The two pirates held their hands together at the altar that had been assembled in Avery's Court.

"You look beautiful, Lenora," Adam whispered to the young redhead.

"Why thank you," she whispered back. "This is going to be a long ceremony."

"It may be long, but it'll be a great memory for your parents." Lenora stretched out her arms above her head.

"Since we're going to be listening to the priest talk for a while, do you have any stories to pass the time?" Lenora asked. Adam grinned

"Depends, which ones have you heard."

"I've heard everything up until how Ryan got out of Rajah." Lenora was curious as to how the assassin had broken free.

"Alright, Ryan told me that one. It goes like this."

"I've got to get out of here." Ryan struggled to break apart the bars. "Pedro isn't going to get away with this." Ryan kicked the bars as he realized they wouldn't budge.

"Silly human," a mechanical voice called out from across the hall.

"And what do you find so funny, Sigma?"

"A trained assassin was blind to his best friend's feelings for his wife." Sigma flickered to show his joy. "And that you think you can escape from this place. I can't even find a way out."

"That's the difference between you and me, Sigma," Ryan retorted, "You're a computer program that can only find a logical solution. I'm a living being that can find another angle." Ryan looked up and saw a loose ceiling tile. "Bingo." The assassin carefully climbed up and pushed the tile out of the way. "Goodbye, you holographic maniac." Ryan escaped into the air duct of the prison. He looked through the openings in the duct until he saw a guard with a pistol and knife. He kicked his way out and tackled the Kurghan warrior. He hit him upside the head, knocking him out. The assassin quickly gathered the weapons. "I've got to get out of here." As he stood back up, three more kurghans entered the hall. "Oh, no." He couldn't kill them and run otherwise he would weaken the Spiral's alliance and further prove his guilt. The two large tigers charged at him on either side. Ryan jumped and kicked each of their heads with a mid-air split. The third charged head-on, but Ryan slid under the warrior and bicycle-kicked them onto his allies. "Stay down. I don't want to hurt you."

"Drop the weapons, Ryan." The assassin turned with both in hand, ready to use them.

"Get out of my way, Brave." They young Admiral held his pistol with both of his hands.

"I don't want to fight you."

"All evidence to the contrary," Ryan retorted, "I'm not going to rot in a cell when I don't have to." Ryan charged at the pirate and slashed at Brave's left shoulder's armor. The admiral flipped his pistol around and hit Ryan's left leg. Ryan slashed the knife and tore open Brave's right pant leg. He prepared to stab the blade into the admiral's open leg, but Brave moved the trigger area of his pistol to catch it.

"I know you're innocent. Adam knows it too." Ryan broke the weapon lock between the two.

"Prove it. Tell me something only Adam would tell me." Brave holstered his pistol and walked to the assassin.

"When he met you, the first thing he noticed was the wing tattoo on your right wrist." Ryan lowered his weapons and turned them around to hand them to the Admiral. He took them and handed Ryan his daggers. "I just got out of a conversation with Adam and was sending a Kurghan to let you out."

"I just want my family back." Ryan put his daggers back on his belt when he said, "I'm sorry."

"I understand," Brave replied, "Now let's get to the Diablo Cut."

"Why the Cut?" Ryan had expected Adam to head back to Skull Island.

"They're on their way to Valencia."

"So that's how he got out." Lenora's curiosity was sated.

"Yep, that's the tale of the great escape." Adam chuckled. He was subsequently shushed by Morgan's best man. "I do have one question for you, though."

"Shoot."

"What made you want to become a pirate?"

"You did." Lenora replied. "Your actions, your impossible feats. They inspired me to do the most with the abilities I had. What I've gained since meeting you is just a bonus."

"Is that all I am? A bonus?" Adam asked playfully.

"Of course not," Lenora stated, "You're anything but a bonus." Adam leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

"I'll keep that in mind." Adam looked back up at the altar. The priest was nowhere near done. "Any more questions?"

"How did Pedro lose his hand?"

"Now that's one I know all too well. It's also how Ryan got his scar."


	11. Chapter 10 An Eye for an Eye

Ch. 10 An Eye for an Eye

"Does that hurt?" Flint asked Pedro.

"Every day," he responded, "But not from missing it. From the extra pain it caused me."

"Pedro, come here," Adam called out. "I need you to get your weapons ready.

"Why?" The pirate didn't understand the reason to be armed on the ship. "Monquista is on our side. We've got no reason to fight them."

"Gortez contacted me saying there were clockworks in the Diablo Cut. You, Will, Autumn, and I are going to take care of them." Adam turned to the buccaneer, "Do you have a problem with that?" The buccaneer was taken aback.

"No," he responded, "No problem at all." Pedro went below decks and gathered their weapons. He came back up and saw Adam talking with Bonnie Anne and Catbeard.

"We'll be back soon. Don't leave until we get back."

"Aye, Cap'n," Bonnie replied, "Catbeard and I will hold the fort down here." The four pirates departed from the ship and made their way to the entrance of the Cut.

"It's been a while since we've been here." Autumn commented as memories of her husband flowed back into her mind, "Last time, we had Ryan with us."

"And now he's a traitor," Pedro finished. "Nothing can change that now."

"Really?" A mysterious voice asked. Pedro turned around to see Ryan and Brave standing with their weapons drawn. "Not even a 'hello,' Pedro? I'm hurt."

"Ryan," Will said, astonished, "What are you doing here?"

"Taking my life back. With a little help from Mr. Bellamy." Ryan sheathed his daggers. "I'm no traitor. Pedro planted that silver gear on me."

"Captain," Pedro pleaded, "You can't possible believe this lying piece of treacherous garbage."

"How do you think Brave and Ryan knew where to find us?" Adam held his pistol to Pedro's head. "I saw right through your little lie. Ryan knows how evil the Armada is; he'd never make a deal with the machines that wanted him dead." Adam chuckled, "You probably would have gotten away with it if I hadn't gotten to know Ryan while sitting in that cell." Pedro clenched his fists.

"My only mistake was letting all of you live!" Pedro slashed his axe in a wide circle, stunning all of the pirates. He grabbed Autumn and fled into the Diablo Cut.

"We've got to go after him." Ryan shouted.

"I can't believe it," Will expressed, "Pedro's a traitor?"  
"I know it's hard to believe, Will," Ryan sympathized, "But right now, I need your help to stop him." Will shook it off and readied his daggers. "Good, now let's go."

"Pedro, what have you done?" Autumn asked as she was dragged by the traitor. "This is insane. Working with the Armada isn't how we survive."  
"It's not about survival. It's about staying together."

"That's why you did all of this? To take me away from Ryan?"

"I did this for you!" Fueled by rage, Pedro threw Autumn against the wall and stabbed a knife through her sleeve and into the wall, pinning her to it. Just as the knife left Pedro's hand, a spark bullet caught him in his right shoulder. "Argh." Pedro grabbed the injured shoulder and shook off the pain.

"Let her go, Pedro," Brave ordered, "It doesn't have to end this way." Pedro extended his axe and swung viciously at the admiral. Brave ducked, slid, and parried to avoid Pedro's axe. A second wave of spark bullets hailed the battlefield as Adam entered the skirmish. Pedro smashed the butt of his axe into Brave's stomach and proceeded to swing at his former captain. Pedro attempted to deal a crushing blow, but Adam flipped his left pistol around and caught the point between the two axe blades with the trigger gap. He pulled up and sent the axe flying into the wall in front of Autumn's face.

"Watch it," Autumn shouted, "I'd like to get out of this alive."

"Sorry," Adam quipped quickly before dodging a knife slash that would have disemboweled him. Pedro kicked Adam back a few feet and as the pirate got back up, Pedro ran to his axe.

"Adam," Brave called out, "I'm going to get to higher ground. Keep him distracted." Brave ran off and Adam drew his attention back to the fight.

"We need him," Adam muttered, "Ryan's the only one who might be able to talk some sense into him." Pedro body slammed into Adam, disarming the musketeer.

"Time to die, Captain," Pedro mocked. He swung down with his axe, ready to kill the pirate.

"No," Ryan shouted. The assassin jumped in front of his captain and held his daggers in a defensive stance. Ryan struggled for dominance as the heavy axe blade pushed past the first dagger. Ryan saw Autumn pinned to the wall and found the strength to push back. The axe flew up, but caught Ryan's left eye. As blood flowed from the scar, the color from Ryan's formerly blue iris drained, turning the eye a gray color. The assassin clutched at the optical organ, realizing that he could no longer see out of it. When he looked at the blood that was flowing, anger welled up. "You'll pay for that." Will ran into the open cavern and rushed to Ryan, helping the fellow assassin up.

"You don't get it, do you?" Pedro asked furiously. "None of this would have happened if you had stayed dead. Autumn was mine and you took her away from me." Autumn finally managed to remove the knife from her sleeve. She kicked Pedro from the back of his leg and ran to her husband.

"Ryan," she exclaimed as she examined the damaged eye, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I loved you!" Pedro was furious. "I would have given you everything. Why him? Why him and not me?!" Autumn glared at the tan skinned buccaneer.

"I thought Ryan was dead. You were the closest thing I had to him. I did love you, but then Ryan came back. My heart always belonged to him." Pedro stepped back, shocked at what he was hearing. "I should have held out hope. I should have waited until I knew for sure. Being with you was a mistake. You can still come back from this Pedro. Drop the axe and come back with us."

"Listen to her, Pedro," Ryan continued, "If you truly care for her, you'll let her be happy." Pedro looked down at his axe, still gripped by his right hand. For a moment, his fingers seemed to loosen their hold on the blade's staff.

"No. Autumn's mine." Pedro firmly gripped the axe and tossed it at the pirates. All four ducked, avoiding the blade. Pedro took a pistol off of his belt and shot at the four combatants. Suddenly, three spark bullets pushed Pedro backwards. The buccaneer looked up and saw Brave sniping at him from a thin platform of rocks. He raised his pistol ready to shoot him down, but a tiny paw grabbed his right hand. He turned his head and saw an undead monkey. Pedro shook it off and shot at it. "Get away from me." Ten more monkey's followed suit and started dragging Pedro deeper into the Cut. Pedro struggled to break free of the monkeys' grips. Ryan looked down at Pedro's axe. He couldn't kill Pedro, but he knew what he had to do. The assassin picked up the axe and slashed down, severing Pedro's right hand.

"Now we're even." With the undead monkeys starting to pour into the small cavern, Ryan and the other pirates made their escape, leaving Pedro to fend for himself. The last image Ryan saw was Pedro being swarmed by the monkeys' rotting corpses.

"I fought my way out with one hand and escaped that cursed island." Pedro stared at the hook. "I've never forgotten that day. Ryan will pay for taking my life away from me."


	12. Chapter 11 A Desperate Plan

Ch. 11 A Desperate Plan

"I can't believe Pedro would actually do that," Jordan gasped. She received a wave of hushing from the people around her. "Sorry." Again she was shushed. Choosing not to say anything else, Jordan slumped in her seat between Bonnie and Ratbeard. Things had been awkward between her and the tall fox musketeer since she kissed Bonnie at El Dorado. "So, Ratbeard," Jordan asked, "What happened next?"

"One of the toughest days of our lives." Ratbeard rubbed the back of his recently groomed hair. "We lost a good man that day."

"We need your help." Adam sat at the table on the opposite side of Captain Steed. "We have information that the Toymaker knows how to defeat the clockworks and we need to find him." Captain Steed took a long sip from his cup of tea and frowned.

"I'm afraid I can't help you, Captain Silver," he replied, "I have built a resistance, but the Toymaker is being held on the edge of Cadiz. It is the most heavily fortified clockwork strong hold. I can't risk what troops I have until the final fight. Besides," The unicorn veteran continued, "You'd never save him in time. He's scheduled to be executed in a few hours."

"Then help us save him!" Catbeard protested. "You of all people must be sick of this unnecessary pain and death." Catbeard took one more complimentary sardine and walked to the door of Steed's Villa. "You know who you are and you know that you can't keep running from your past." As the cat walked from the room, Adam once again pleaded for help.

"If you can help us, you won't have to waste another life for Valencia. The rest of the Spiral's navy's will end this fight." Steed stood up and paced his way to the window.

"I've seen a lot of death; I'd prefer not to see any more." Steed turned to the young captain. "I can't spare any troops, but I can give you a way into clockwork territory." The unicorn pulled a small holo device, like the one Brave owns, and gave it to Adam. "This contains a list of all the clockwork patrols and when they leave. All I can give you is this and a wish of good luck."

"It'll do. Thank you, Captain Steed." Adam walked out to his crew. "We've got our opening. A patrol will be heading out in about an hour; if we hurry we can get to the outskirts of Cadiz."

"Adam," Brave said, "I need to get back to Rajah. This is where I'll be leaving you."

"Thank you for your help, Brave," Adam responded, "If it wasn't for you, our assassin would still be in prison." Adam held out his hand and the Admiral gladly shook it.

"It was no trouble; just make sure he stays alive."

"I promise." The Rajan Admiral turned and walked toward his own ship, departing from the island. Adam went with his own crew and opened the holo device in his cabin to study it one last time. There was a knock at his door. "Come in." Catbeard and Ryan walked into the room. Adam was still surprised by how quickly Ryan had recovered from his wound. Although the scar limited his sight, his fighting abilities had not been affected as Ryan increased his speed. This allowed him to react quicker than when he had two eyes.

"Adam," Catbeard started, "We need to talk." Adam motioned for the two to sit.

"This plan of yours, Adam," Ryan continued, "Is it really the best one? I mean, we promised Avery that we'd be right back at Skull Island after we finished helping Rajah."

"We were also promised that there wouldn't be any inconveniences on that mission. I'm done listening to an old fossil that won't do what's necessary." Ryan conceded the point and left the room.

"Captain," Catbeard continued his own point, "The fact remains that you want to go after someone who _might_ know how to destroy the clockworks once and for all. If we follow Avery's orders, the Armada is destroyed. Why would you go out of your way to save someone who is already dead?" Adam rummaged through his desk.

"I wouldn't expect someone who knew their family to understand." Adam found what he was looking for and pulled out a framed picture. It was him as a baby being held by a younger toymaker. "He knew who I was when I was born. He knew my parents. If I save him, I can finally know who I am." Catbeard held the picture and grinned.

"I can understand your motivations, Adam. Really, I do." Catbeard set the picture back down. "But it's foolish. We can't keep wasting time when there is a war getting ready to start."

"That's not your choice. I'm your captain and you'll do as I say." Catbeard stood up from his chair.

"As you command, captain." As he opened the door, Catbeard whispered to himself, "Just as arrogant as his father."

In a matter of hours, the Golden Archer had reached the edge of Cadiz. Adam took Catbeard, Bonnie Anne, Ratbeard, and Wing Chun with him, leaving the others to protect the ship if they needed to escape in a hurry.

"Catbeard, you come with me." Adam drew his rifle. "We'll set up in that tower. The rest of you, try to hide in some of the nearby buildings. Don't get caught." The cat and human quickly climbed the steps, relieved to find that there were no clockworks in sight. When they reached the top, Adam aimed his rifle out of the window. From the scope, he could see where the Toymaker was to be executed. "I've got a clear shot. He'll make it out alive."

"I'll cover the door." As Catbeard moved to the door, he drew his cutlass. A loud thumping sound could be heard outside in the courtyard. Clockworks were moving in formation with a figure whose head was covered with a brown sack. An elegant armor-clad clockwork moved behind the prisoner with a sword at her side and a piece of parchment in her left hand. They reached the front of the crowd and the elite clockwork turned to her fellow soldiers.

"My name is Queen. By order of Lord Kane, the man known as the Toymaker is to be executed today in front of you all to be made an example for all of those who would dare oppose us." Catbeard joined his captain at the window.

"Adam, there's too many. I'm sorry, but we can't risk the rescue."

"You can either stay out of my way or stop me. I'm saving him."

"Do you have any last words, Toymaker?"

"My life is worth giving up if it means an end to the clockwork regime."

"Good-bye." As Queen raised her blade, Adam lined up his shot. Catbeard watched the musketeer, but saw something gleam from behind the Toymaker. He could faintly make out a clockwork pistol.

"No!" As the spark pistol went off, Catbeard pushed Adam out of the window's line of sight. "Are you alright?" Adam nodded yes then looked up at the cat pirate. There was a hole emanating sparks going through his heart.

"Catbeard," Adam gasped, "Your heart." The cat reached his right paw to the wound.

"I- I didn't even feel it." The cat collapsed, starting to cough up blood.

"No, you're going to be fine."

"Adam, you need to listen to me." Catbeard took Adam's hand in his paw. "Your father would kill me himself if he knew I was telling you this. You need to head back to Skull Island. He's waiting for you there."

"What? He's alive?"

"I'm sorry. My time is up." Catbeard stared up at the ceiling. "Remember Adam, death isn't an end once and for all; it's just a new beginning." Catbeard's eyes went white and rolled in the back of his head. Adam closed the cat's eye lids and picked up his rifle. He looked through the scope and saw Deacon in the fake Toymaker's clothes.

"Everyone," Adam shouted into his earpiece, "We need to get out now! Deacon is back!"

"What?!" Bonnie exclaimed. "That's impossible; we destroyed him."

"It's true. Now get back to the ship as fast as you can." Adam was making his way down the stairs, carrying Catbeard's body on his shoulders. He kicked open the door and saw ten clockwork marines chasing his three allies. He set down Catbeard and aimed his rifle at the squadron. He took out three and started to drag the cat pirate. "Ryan, I need help. Get to my position." There was no response. Adam timed his shots, but Queen and her private squadron of battle angels were closing in. Adam flipped his rifle around and smashed two clockwork heads with the butt of the gun.

"Destroy him." Queen motioned for the battle angels to begin their attack. Adam saw three angels charging and tossed the gun at them, knocking them to the ground. He drew his twin pistols and shot them in their heads. Adam charged at the remaining battle angels and disarmed one of their swords, picking it up and using it himself.

"You're finished Queen." Adam decapitated the last two clockwork battle angels and stabbed the blade into Queen's chest. As the blade penetrated, Queen's body appeared to shimmer. Confused, Adam moved the blade and realized that it wasn't the real Queen.

"Holographic projector. I'm sorry to tell you, darling, but I'm not on Cadiz." Adam looked at the sword he was holding. It was a lot less powerful than the weapons used by the usual clockwork soldiers. The blade was dull and chipped in a few places. "Tell me, when was the last time you checked in with Skull Island?" Adam's eyes widened. Throwing down the sword, he picked up his rifle and Catbeard's body and ran to his ship. He set down Catbeard's body and shot the few clockworks that were following him. Bonnie joined him and helped Ratbeard and Wing Chun get aboard. Ratbeard gasped for air after running for so long. When he lifted his head, he was staring at Catbeard's lifeless body.

"No." Ratbeard kneeled over the body. "He didn't deserve this."

"We need to get back to Skull Island."


	13. Chapter 12 Valencia's Last Pirate

Ch. 12 Valencia's Last Pirate

"So Catbeard died protecting Avery's child?" Flint took a quick sip of his glass of yum. "I'm impressed. He finally learned about sacrifice." Tauros had an angered expression on Blaze's face.

"He was the enemy. We shouldn't be dwelling on his past."

"You can't fight an enemy without respecting their tactics. Otherwise, their next action could surprise you." Taking another sip, Flint continued his talk with Tauros and his followers. "Besides, at least they didn't let their enemies live right under their noses."

"What happened!?" Ratbeard held Adam by his shirt collar. "How did this happen?"

"Let go of me." Ratbeard threw Adam to the ground. "It was Deacon. Catbeard saw a weapon being drawn from behind who I thought was the Toymaker and pushed me out of the way." Adam stared down at his body. "He saved me." Ratbeard drew his blade and held it to Adam's neck. The rest of the crew drew their weapons against him except Adam.

"He was my friend and now he's dead because you led us on a wild goose chase for your own personal gain! He's dead because of you!" Ratbeard moved his blade a smidge and made a tiny cut on the left side of Adam's neck.

"Don't do it Ratbeard," Autumn begged.

"A good man is dead because of him!"

"I know." Adam said. Ratbeard turned his head to look at his captain. "I made the mistake. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was so focused on finding my family that I ignored what he was telling me. So if you're going to kill me, go ahead and do it. But Queen, Kane, and an army of clockworks are attacking Skull Island right now." Ratbeard's arm shook as he struggled to kill his captain. He gasped and dropped the sword. The old rat fell to the ground, tears in his eyes. Adam kneeled down next to him and hugged him. "He was my friend, too. I got him killed and I have to live with that."

"Autumn get to the wheel and put us on course for Skull Island," Wing Chun commanded.

"I can't," she responded, "We've got company." Two Armada skiffs were closing in on the Golden Archer. Adam looked up and saw the ships. "They're coming in fast. I don't think we'll be able to outrun them."

"Everyone, get to your battle stations!" Adam and Ratbeard got up, wiping away their tears. They drew their weapons as boarding planks connected all three ships. Ryan, take Autumn, Will, and Wing and take out the clockworks on the left side. Ratbeard, Bonnie and I will take out the ones on the right." The two halves of the crew separated as clockworks started to board. Adam shot his pistols into a clockwork dragoon. He grabbed its cannon and shot into the crowd of clockworks. After the first wave, dozens more poured out from the lower decks.

"There's too many," Bonnie exclaimed. There's no way we can take them all out." Adam looked down at the cannon.

"Get everyone back to the ship."

"What are you going to do," Ratbeard asked."

"Something crazy." Adam pulled out his grapple gun and attached it to the mast of the clockwork ship. While he swung, Adam aimed his cannon down and fired into the deck of the ship. The blasts were so powerful that it pierced through the hull of the Armada skiff. He detached himself from the ship and landed back on the Golden Archer. Ratbeard, Bonnie, and Adam watched as the skiff sank. They turned and saw the rest of their crew struggling to fight off the clockworks from the other ship. "Get to the other side of the ship!" The three of them ran over and found their struggle steadily decreasing. As the smoke cleared, they saw Captain Steed and a crew of ten pirates fighting alongside their own crew. Among them was the young Unicorn pirate, Iago. In a matter of minutes, the rest of the clockworks were defeated without intervention from Adam or his group.

"Hello Captain Silver," Captain Steed greeted.

"It's you." Adam realized, "You're the pirate lord of Valencia."

"I'm sorry that I kept my true identity from you, but if the Armada knew who I was, Valencia's resistance would not exist, nor would it have survived." Steed sheathed his dueling blade. "And you were right. If I am going to give my people their home back, I must be willing to risk lives, even my own life." Everyone returned to the Golden Archer.

"Then help me now. Skull Island is under attack and we need people now more than ever."

"Captain Steed hid right under your nose while your clockworks were focusing on the map." Tauros got up from his seat and walked over to Flint.

"Sir, I was trying to give Blaze the capability to destroy the pirates." Flint slapped Tauros across his face with his right hand.

"You were never ordered to destroy the pirates. I told you to kill the Silvers. You may have made it possible for me to now return to Skull Island, but remember that you answer to me." Tauros slinked back to his seat on the couch and gulped down a glass of yum. "Now tell me about the siege of Skull Island."


	14. Chapter 13 Honor 'til Death

Ch. 13 Honor 'til Death

"Catbeard's funeral at sea was probably one of the toughest days of my life," Adam whispered to Lenora. The red haired pirate was bored and had asked Adam to tell her some stories. "It was the first time I had lost someone because of an order I had given."

"Today, we are here to honor a pirate, an adventurer, a fish connoisseur, and a friend." Ratbeard had offered to lead the service for their fallen comrade. "I knew him for most of my career as a pirate. He was a shipmate, a rival, and at other points my captain. I wouldn't be that rat I am today without him." Autumn put her hand on Catbeard's body.

"When we first met Catbeard, the first thing I thought was 'How could this tiny cat be one of the pirate lords of the Spiral?' After getting to know him, I saw just how well he could hold his own in a fight." Ryan took his place next to Autumn.

"After our toughest fights, he'd tell us stories about his past adventures. He made us realize how easy our fights actually were."

"I remember how we had to get him out of jail in Marleybone," Bonnie started, "Taking out Rooke and dozens of clockwork strongholds just to save his life. I always thought he'd be a waste of time, but seeing what his did today made me realize how much he had to give." Adam stood over Catbeard's body.

"Catbeard died because I didn't listen to him. He tried to talk me out of finding the Toymaker. He died saving my life. The last thing he told me before he died was that my father is on Skull Island." Everyone looked at Adam. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Skull Island is under attack. What we can do to honor Catbeard is make sure that Catbeard's home doesn't fall. That is how we honor him, even in death." Adam closed the casket. Wing Chun, Captain Steed, Ratbeard, Iago, Will, and Adam carried the casket and pushed it overboard. The crew watched as Catbeard's corpse slowly fell into the abyss of the Spiral.

"So," Ryan said, "Back to Skull Island?"

"Back to Skull Island."


	15. Chapter 14 Armada Assault

Ch. 14 Armada Assault

"The bride and groom shall now recite the vows that they have written for each other," stated the priest. Morgan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a letter. He opened it and unfolded the paper that lied inside.

"Sirena," Morgan started to speak, "When I first met you, we were both trying to steal loot from the same Marleybonian Navy frigate. We both boarded their ship and you shot me a look that said 'this is mine.' I found you at Skull Island a few hours later, buying drinks for everyone at the Kraken Skull Tavern. When you saw me, you slinked away. I joined you and we talked for hours. After I walked you home, you told me about your daughter and how you'd do anything to keep her safe." Morgan cleared his throat. "We went out many times after that and after a year, I looked at you and realized that I had found someone worth more than a measly Marleybonian frigate. I'd found someone worth dying for. After surviving the Armada's assault on Skull Island, I knew what I had to do. I knew that I didn't want to live my life with the regret of not loving you as much as I have. I knew that I wanted to be with you forever and that I'd still love you even when we're old and weary." Sirena shed a tear and quickly wiped it away.

"The bride will now read her vows." Sirena pulled out her letter.

"Morgan. During our talk that first night, the only thing I ever really thought about was protecting my daughter. You seemed like an excellent father figure that she could look up to, but after that night, there was something about you that I couldn't get out of my head. You were always there and knew how to lift my spirits when I was feeling down. After all those months, I wasn't thinking about keeping my daughter safe; I was thinking about the man that I would do anything to be with. The attack on Skull Island was one of the scariest days of my life, but you kept me safe. Despite everything we've been through, the one thing I'll never regret is falling in love with you." The two put down their letters and the priest continued to speak.

"If there is anyone who believes that these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." Suddenly, a door opened at the entrance of the church. A black suited figure walked up the aisle. He looked around and saw everyone staring at him.

"Oh, sorry," Will apologized, "I got up to use the bathroom. Continue." Will took his seat and the priest resumed the ceremony.

"Place your rings on your fingers." The couple did as they were told. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Morgan held his wife's waist and pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss. A loud wave of oohs, aahs, whistles, and cheers filled the church. People started to throw flowers and clapped for them as the married couple left the church. Morgan and Sirena thought about many things as they left, but one thought kept bursting through their minds: the attack.

"Sirena, get Johnny into the house." Morgan carried a badly burned pirate on his shoulders to his girlfriend. She grabbed him and drew a pistol.

"Where are you going?" Sirena shot at a clockwork marine that had snuck up behind Morgan.

"I'm going to find Avery and give him back up." Morgan attached a long spout to his rifle and shot at a marksman in the distance, completely obliterating its head with the precise spark burst. "I'll take out any clockworks I can and find you after we've driven them back."

"No Morgan," Sirena grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulder, "It's too dangerous."

"Someone has to help." Morgan kissed her cheek. "Take Johnny and keep you and Lenora inside. You'll be safe. Destroy anything that tries to get inside." Morgan broke away and Sirena shed a single tear. Morgan had two options: he could charge through hundreds of clockworks or stick to the shadows and pick them off one by one. He chose the latter. "Come on, you piece of metal. Just a little closer." He waited until a small squadron of clockworks had gotten by the doors of the Kraken Skull Tavern and shot through the window, destroying the building and the clockworks in the process. "Boom." Morgan jumped across to the next building and climbed over the wall that separated Avery's court and the business district of Skull Island. When Morgan stood up on the wall, he redrew his rifle and looked down the scope at the clockwork army. Coming in from the very back, he recognized the female clockwork known as Queen, but standing next to her was one he'd only heard stories about. "Kane." Morgan scaled down the wall and found Avery exiting his office with a sword and pistol on his belt. "Captain Avery, we've got trouble."

"Tell me something I don't know, Mr. Smith. Clockworks are on my island."

"It's not just clockworks, sir. Queen is leading the assault. And it's not just her; Kane is with them." Avery covered his face.

"No." He scratched his graying beard and turned to Morgan. "Find your best fighters and have them start attacking their army from the sides. I'll deal with Kane." Morgan scaled the wall again and ran for help. As the marksman left, Kane and Queen entered Avery's Court. Morgan looked down his scope again, but couldn't see any ships off in the distance. He turned to his girlfriend's house.

"No." There were clockworks trying to break down the door. The pirate shot one of the clockworks, but the marine put up its shield, protecting the rest. "Son of a sky snake." Morgan quickly jumped from building to building in order to reach the house in time. He jumped on top of a marksman and shot it at point blank range. Putting up his rifle, the experienced sniper took a machete off of his belt and severed a clockwork's head. "Sirena!"

"Morgan." The pink armored pirate walked through a doorway, broadsword in hand. "Don't worry, I took care of them." The marksman hugged her.

"Come on, I need your help."

"Can I help?" Lenora came out from behind Sirena. Morgan looked at Sirena, who nodded in approval.

"Yes, but you do what I tell you, when I tell you to do it. No arguments."

"Yes, sir." Lenora drew her daggers, ready to fight.

"Here's the plan. I'm going to go on the right side of the clockwork army. I'll time my shots, but I need you two to take care of the left side." Morgan took out his rifle. He started to head out when Sirena stopped him.

"Hey," Sirena kissed him on his lips, "You come back alive."

"I always do." Morgan shot an ascension cable and flew up to the building opposite them.

"Come on, sweetie," Sirena spoke to her daughter, "Let's kill some clockworks." The pair stormed out of the house into the army of clockworks. Lenora threw her daggers into two clockworks in front of her while Sirena stabbed her broadsword through three marines. The older pirate noticed a dragoon sneaking up behind her and swung her sword, three clockworks still on it, and knocked over the brute. Lenora kicked two clockworks away and slashed her daggers across a marksman's face. Two clockworks behind her fell as Morgan's sniper skills took effect.

"We can do this mom." Lenora stabbed her left dagger into a clockwork battle angel's head and pushed it off with her foot. "We can beat them."

"We can take 'em," Morgan whispered to himself, "We can take 'em." The sniper shot four more clockworks, three of which went down. Suddenly, Morgan heard yelling coming from the docks. A ship had arrived with pirates running down the ramp. "Finally, we've got help." He turned to his wife. "Sirena, you and Lenora fall back. Help has arrived."

"Will do, Dead-eye."

"Destroy them all," Adam shouted, "It's time to take back our home!" Captain Steed threw his dueling blade into a clockworks head and jumped over it, grabbing it and stabbing down into a marine's shield. He removed it and took the shield for himself.

"This is for my realm." He smashed the shield into a dragoon. "This is for my friends." He elbowed a battle angel in the gut. "And this is for everything else." The unicorn threw his hat into the air, revealing five spark bombs. Falling back he shouted, "Now, Captain Silver!" Adam shot the bombs and saw the sparks electrocute half of the army.

"Ryan, Will," Adam called, "Death blossom!" The two assassins hid in the shadows and made their way to the center of the army. They spun around slashing dozens of clockworks to bits. "Autumn and Wing, Power slash." Wing punched a row of clockworks, stunning them. This gave Autumn time to run in front of them, cutting them in half. "Ratbeard and Bonnie, Shredder blast!" The rat stuck his peg leg into Bonnie's Sparquebus.

"Get ready to fire, fox."

"Don't tell me what to do, you old rat," The fox sniper chuckled. She fired her weapon and Ratbeard started to spin through the air. His blade combined with the speed of Bonnie Anne's shot allowed the rat to completely decimate three squadrons of clockworks.

"Everyone, make your way to the front of the army!" With only about two dozen clockworks left, Adam's crew made quick work of the remnants of Kane's army. Morgan jumped down from his sniper perch and walked back to Sirena's house. He opened the door and found Lenora and Sirena sitting on the couch.

"Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, we're alright."

"Good." Morgan walked over to Sirena and took her hands in his own. "Sirena, there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time now." Morgan got on his knee and took a deep breath. "Sneaky Sirena Jones, will you marry me?" Sirena covered her mouth with her hands and started to cry.

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" She embraced him and gave him a deep passionate kiss.

"You know," Lenora let out a chuckle, "I know this is a great moment in all of our lives, but get a room."

"I've never loved you more than I have now." Morgan and Sirena were standing on the balcony that sat outside the brawling hall, which, along with Skull Island's business district, had been repurposed for the wedding.

"Well I look forward to you showing me how much you love me later on tonight." Sirena laughed. "Come on, let's go down and see everyone." Sirena turned around and thought she saw a pale white man clad in orange swashbuckler garbs and a triple bladed gauntlet on his belt. She blinked and the figure disappeared. "I'm yours."


	16. Chapter 15 Father and Son

Ch. 15 Father and Son

"You."

"Captain Avery," Kane stated, "It's been too long."

"I don't want to fight you," Avery responded, "Get rid of that mask."

"What are you hoping to see?"

"The face of my son." Kane took off his face plate to reveal Blaze's face.

"Do you think talking to me face to face will change anything?" Blaze drew his sword. "I've done what you could never do. I've protected mom. She's alive because of me."

"Is that what you call that abomination standing next to you? This isn't life. This is an empty shell."

"Well she died because of you!" Blaze tightened his grip on his sword. "If you had listened to me, she'd be alive." Avery rubbed the crossed sword and pistol tattoo on his neck.

"Sagittarius, talk some sense into him." Without appearing, the personality matrix spoke to Avery.

"You and I both know that there's nothing I can say to change his mind."

"Blaze, you know what's coming. Don't waste your time trying to kill me when the person that killed your mother is still out there."

"Oh, so now you'll acknowledge him. I believe the lie you told the rest of Skull Island was that the Troggies did it."

"Blaze, I'm not going to fight you." As the various trainers ran to the edge of the court, Blaze put his mask back on and Avery walked toward his son. "Come home." Blaze, now Kane, looked down at his sword and looked back up at Avery.

"Die." He ran Avery through his stomach and quickly drew his pistol, shooting him in between his heart and left lung. The old pirate gasped for air and touch his son's face one last time. Kane reached for Avery's neck and ripped out Sagittarius. "You can't hide in there forever, Sagittarius." The trainer's began their attack on the clockwork leader, but both Kane and Queen disappeared before any of the strikes could make contact. They ran toward Avery and started to tend to his wounds.

"No, don't." Avery shoved them away. "Just make sure Adam makes it back. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a pirate donning a red overcoat with golden trim and a fusilier's cap. 'He made it,' Avery thought.

"At least you helped eliminate Avery." Flint chuckled. "I would have just killed him on sight, but it did make your failure bittersweet."


	17. Chapter 16 Frozen Fury

Ch. 16 Frozen Fury

"Bonnie," Jordan, dressed in an icy blue dress with white accents, found Bonnie Anne sitting at a table by the entrance to the Brawling Hall. Jordan thought the fox was beautiful in her white dress with green accents. "I've been looking for you all over the place. Everyone's been wondering where you are." Bonnie looked down at her glass of water.

"I've just been thinking." Bonnie took a sip and set the cup back down. "How did you get your powers?" Jordan sat down next to her.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Lieutenant," Jordan shouted, "Get down here. I need you for something." The lieutenant climbed down from the mast and joined the admiral. The female dog was confused.

"Yes, Admiral?"

"Lilith, I'm worried about you. You haven't slept in days. Get some rest." Jordan, dressed in her icy blue admiral outfit patted her companion on her shoulders.

"Really Admiral, I'm fine." The dog was actually extremely tired, but refused to admit it to her girlfriend.

"Get some rest, Ms. Taylor. In my quarters." Jordan chuckled, "Don't make me make it an order." Lilith smiled.

"Well," Lilith said, "When you put it like that, how can I say no?" The dog entered Jordan's quarters with Jordan locking the door behind the two of them.

"Mm." Lilith woke up three hours later. Jordan was leaning over the table in her cabin, looking over a map of Polaris. "It looks like you couldn't sleep." Lilith covered her body with the blanket from Jordan's bed in case anyone walked in.

"I know," Jordan responded, "I'm a hypocrite."

"As sure as the Queen of Marleybone has seven fingers on her left paw."

"You're making that up," Jordan laughed.

"I know, but you believed it for a second there." Lilith leaned over and kissed her girlfriend. "I'm going to get dressed. Could you cover for me out on the mast?"

"Sure." Jordan stole one last kiss and was heading outside when a knock came from her door. Jordan opened the door and saw a clockwork standing there. She leaned over to grab her scythe and quickly decapitated the machine. "Make it fast, Lilith. We've got company." Lilith struggled to at least put on her white undershirt. Jordan went out to the deck of the ship and saw her crew fighting off dozens of clockworks. Jordan threw her scythe into the crowd and managed to take out several clockwork marines. Lilith joined her with her own scythe in hand.

"Need some help?" Lilith straightened the blade, moved it past a clockwork, re-extended it, and pulled back, ripping it in half. "Take that you bucket of bolts." Lilith and Jordan got back to back and hacked and slashed their way through all of the clockworks. Without warning, two clockwork battle angels swooped down and grabbed both of their weapons. Twelve clockwork marines surrounded the couple, their axes pointed at them. The naval fighters put their hands above their heads and surrendered. Jordan, Lilith, and the remaining crew members were lined up along the length of the ship.

"After two years, this is how we're going to meet our end," Jordan chuckled.

"We're not going to die, Jordan." Lilith struggled to lean over and kissed her girlfriend on her left cheek. "We're going to be fine." A tall feminine clockwork clad in a black, metal dress walked along the lined up crew until she reached Jordan.

"So," Queen spoke, "You're the famous Jordan Parker. I'll admit, I expected more."

"I'd impress you more if I had my scythe." Queen laughed. Jordan noticed the elite clockwork flick her right wrist. "What are you doing?"

"You have something that I'm searching for. And unless you give it to me, I'm going to kill everyone on this ship." She made a fist and a fusilier shot the crew member at the end of the line. Jordan gasped and looked away. She knew each member of her crew would be willing to die for each other, but she never thought the day would come.

"I don't know what you're looking for." Queen made another fist; another crew member fell. With each shot, Jordan flinched. When the fusilier reached Lilith, Jordan got up and tackled the fusilier to the ground. "Don't touch her!" Two more clockworks grabbed her arms and held her back. It would have been impossible for Queen to miss Jordan's reaction.

"Ah, I see," the clockwork stated, "Love." Queen stood behind Lilith. "The only reason anyone would risk their life for another. I knew someone like that once; that person is dead now because of her blind hope. The hope that she could risk her life without harm coming to her." Queen unsheathed her sword.

"Please," Jordan begged, "Don't hurt her. Don't hurt my Lilith."

"Jordan," Lilith started to talk before being interrupted by Jordan.

"No! I'm not going to lose you." Jordan couldn't control herself anymore and started to cry.

"Jordan, it's okay." Lilith shed a tear.

"Tell me what I want to know or she dies." Queen was growing impatient.

"Just let her go! I swear I don't know what you're looking for!" Jordan couldn't take the torture anymore. A glimmer appeared in Lilith's eyes and she was surrounded by an icy blue aura. She head-butted Queen in the stomach and her skin turned to ice. Breaking her bonds, the dog let out two quick ice bursts and froze the clockworks restraining her girlfriend. She untied Jordan and hugged her after returning her skin to normal.

"Are you alright?" Jordan looked at her girlfriend in the eyes and smiled.

"Better now." Lilith smiled at the young human. Her joy was short-lived as she saw Queen spawn from a cloud of dark energy behind Jordan.

"Look out!" Lilith pushed Jordan out of the way and felt a searing pain in her chest. She looked down and saw Queen's sword piercing her heart. When the blade was removed by the clockwork, the dog reached down and held the wound before collapsing to the ground.

"No!" Jordan slid over to her dying girlfriend. "No. No. No. No. No. You're going to be fine Lilith. You're going to be alright." Jordan ripped off her left shirt sleeve and tried to stop the bleeding.

"Jordan," Lilith coughed, "It's alright." The dog held her face with her right hand. "I need you to do something for me." Jordan held the hand on her face, crying with every word she said. "Don't be an ice queen." She planted a kiss on the pirate's lips. "I need you to be happy. Do it for your Ice Lily."

"I will. I promise." Jordan wiped the tears from her eyes. Lilith coughed up blood and looked at Queen.

"My mother was on the crew that went to El Dorado. I inherited her powers. If that's what you wanted, you should know that only a living being can possess them." Lilith grinned and closed her eyes one last time. Jordan held on to her girlfriend. The dog's aura appeared around her body before spreading to Jordan's body. It swirled around the two until it only surrounded Jordan. Jordan was mesmerized by the icy blue aura. When she looked back down at her dead girlfriend's body, it was gone, sparks of energy twinkling in its place. All that was left was the locket Jordan had given her two weeks ago. Jordan opened it and saw a picture of the two of them. Putting the locket around her neck, the Admiral stood up.

"It's a shame," Queen spoke, "What you two had was beautiful." Jordan clenched her fists and swung around with her right hand. It turned to ice as her digits made contact with Queen's faceplate. "You're going to regret crossing me."

"I'm sure I'll pay for it later," Jordan chuckled, "But I made a promise and I intend to keep it." She changed her whole body to ice and grabbed her scythe. Two clockworks came charging at her from either side. Jordan jumped in the air and did a split to kick both of them away. She spun her scythe around her body, destroying the five clockworks that had joined the fray. The pirate jumped onto the clockwork ship, ready to destroy everything in sight. She was stopped, however, when four beams of energy restrained her limbs.

"You will pay for it." Queen turned to the battle angel at the wheel. "Set a course for Aragorn Skyway. You'll stay there until you're given further instructions for Lord Kane."

"Where will you go, ma'am," the battle angel asked.

"I will take the generous Ms. Parker's ship and use it to attack Skull Island. Lord Kane will be joining me."

"That's my story," Jordan stated, "My girlfriend transferred her powers to me before she died. She died saving me." Jordan put her right hand on the locket hanging from her neck. "She's always going to be a part of me, and I'll never love anyone more than I loved her." Jordan looked up from the locket and saw Bonnie staring at her. "Are you alright?" Bonnie blinked, shaking her head.

"Sorry, my mind started thinking about other things."

"You were thinking about what happened on El Dorado. I should probably correct what I just said. There's only one person who I might love as much as Lilith." Jordan pushed her long brown hair out of her pale face. Bonnie sat up in her seat. "Maybe what I did back there was a mistake. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable. It's clear that it wasn't right of me to go and kiss you like that." Jordan got up from the table and started to walk away.

"I liked the kiss," Bonnie sighed. Jordan stopped in her tracks. "I didn't know how to process it for the past few days. I kept telling myself that I didn't like it, but the more I did, the more I kept thinking about you." Jordan sat back down.

"You've never been kissed before, have you?"

"Just not by a girl, let alone a human." Bonnie blushed.

"Hey, I was with a dog. I'm pretty experienced with cross-species romances." Bonnie laughed. She stared at the pirate, smiling. The fox leaned over the table and kiss the young brunette. After breaking off the kiss, Jordan chuckled, "Now you're getting it." She took Bonnie Anne's hand and stood up. "Care to join me for a dance?" Bonnie stood up with Jordan.

"I'd love to."


	18. Chapter 17 Hello, My Name is Adam

Ch. 17 Hello, My Name is Adam

(Tribute to Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC)

"Okay, where is he?" Lenora was sitting at the bar in the Kraken Skull Tavern. Adam was supposed to meet up with her an hour ago.

"Hello, Ms. Noble," the bartender greeted the pirate, "What can I get you?"

"I guess I'll take a glass of yum. Make it a double." The bartender poured Lenora her drink.

"Something on your mind?"

"Adam told me to meet him here, but I've been sitting here for an hour." Lenora looked around again, but still no Adam. "Maybe I should go."

"Well hey there, beautiful." Lenora turned and saw Adam leaning on the bar, still dressed in his tuxedo.

"You're late."

"I thought we were doing the whole first date thing. I was being fashionably late."

"That was supposed to be my job."

"Anyways," Adam cleared his throat, "My name is Merciless Adam Silver. Codename: Golden Archer. I'm an all-around human rebel with a thirst for justice in an unjust Spiral." Lenora stared at Adam with an annoyed look on her face. "Also I defeat armies on the side. And you are?"

"Red Lenora Noble. Pirate."

"Noble, huh?" Adam grinned. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh really? Flatter me."

"Rumor is you're sexy, smart, great with your daggers." Lenora was slightly annoyed again. "Also, you defeat armies on the side too."

"And is that supposed to melt a girl's heart?" Lenora laughed.

"Well yeah. This voice and… um… ah…" Adam slammed his head on the bar. "I'm running out of banter Lenora."

"Keep going. Remember, we just met." Lenora took a sip from her glass of yum. "So do most girls fall for your act?" A brisk tango was played by the band in the tavern.

"Oh yeah," Adam smirked, "All of the girls fall for it. Let me show you." Adam took Lenora's hands and dragged her from the bar.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on. It'll be fun."

"No. No. No!" Adam placed his arms around Lenora's waist. "I swear I'm going to get you back for this." The pair started to dance awkwardly into the crowd.

"Promises. Promises," Adam chuckled. Adam twirled his girlfriend around and pulled her back to him. Lenora saw that he wanted to move further into the crowd so she stuck her left foot behind his leg. He grinned and obliged as she slowly stepped away from the center. Still dancing, the pair stared into each other's eyes. "Now you're getting it." Lenora started to kick her feet in tune with the song. As the song reached its high point, the young swashbuckler lifted her leg along Adam's side and leaned on him, with the musketeer following suit.

"Okay, maybe I'm having a little bit of fun." Lenora spun out of Adam's arms and spun back in as the song started to end. As the final notes played, Lenora leaned back in Adam's arms. The pair were surprised by a loud round of applause. Adam looked up and saw that everyone on the dance floor was cheering for them.

"So, think a girl would fall for that?"

"Oh… Dragonspyre… yes," Lenora gasped. She grinned. "I see you've been taking lessons."

"Well, I had a little help." Sagittarius appeared over Adam's shoulder as he said this.

"Yeah no problem," Sagittarius stated, "It was the least I could do for my new boss."

"Sagittarius," Adam replied, "We've been over this. I'm not your boss; I'm your friend."

"I can't work unless you're awake and I do what you say. Boss."

"Sag," Lenora interrupted, "You're kind of ruining the moment."

"Oops. Sorry. I'll just be going." The personality matrix disappeared. Adam lifted Lenora back up and held her hand as they sat down at a table.

"Well, I have had a great time tonight, Ms. Noble." Adam chuckled. Lenora blushed. "So, shall I see you later on tonight?"

"You won't even have to wait." The pair stood up from the table and left the tavern. When they walked out, they saw Autumn and Ryan swaying together to the music being played by the band outside. Lenora glanced to the right and saw Jordan and Bonnie doing the same thing. "Well that's just sweet." Adam looked at what Lenora was looking at.

"Huh," Adam chuckled, "I would never have guessed that I would see the day." Bonnie angled her head down and kissed Jordan's forehead. "That fox is going to take good care of her."

"How do you know?"

"Because after all of the years that Bonnie and I have known each other, I've never seen her let go of anything she cares about." Adam and Lenora walked to the docks and saw Morgan and Sirena boarding their ship. "Getting ready for your honeymoon?" Morgan turned around and smiled.

"Yep. Figured we'd beat the skyway traffic and reach Marleybone in two days." His bride lay her head on his shoulder.

"I assume you'll take good care of our daughter, mister?" Sirena seemed to have daggers in her eyes.

"Sirena," Morgan gently scolded, "You worry too much."

"Sorry, I'm a mother. It's my job." Sirena turned back to Adam. "I trust you."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her." Adam leaned in and pecked Lenora on the lips. "I can promise you that." The newlyweds nodded and boarded their ship. Adam and Lenora waved good bye as their skiff sailed into the night. "They'll be fine."

"I know." Lenora smiled and leaned her head on Adam's left shoulder. "Tired?"

"No."

"Good. Let's head over to your place." Adam smiled. The two turned around and headed to Avery's Court, holding each other in their arms all the way.


	19. Epilogue

Epilogue

"So that is what we're up against," Tauros finished. Flint finished his drink and stood up.

"Honestly, I didn't care about their past. It doesn't matter." Tauros stood up. "All I cared about was that you made it possible for me to finally return to Skull Island. I just want to make one thing clear."

"Yes, sir?"

"I am still your boss. We are not equals in any of this. In power, in skill, or in intelligence. You still answer to me."

"Of course." Flint clapped his hands together.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way. Allow me to introduce my associates." The front door opened up and three pirates walked into the room. "The lovely privateer with the purple streak in her brown hair is the dastardly Jillian Minx; though she prefers to go by Jinx."

"I'd say that it's a pleasure, but that would probably jinx it." The privateer giggled and the girl to her right planted a kiss on her cheek.

"And the short-haired beauty next to her is her wife Kristen Minx."

"Hiya huns." The black-haired musketeer blew a kiss to Hannah. "I'm sure we're gonna have a blast."

"And this last gentleman is the infamous Deadly Kyle Noble." The orange garbed swashbuckler tilted his hat.

"Are we ready, Flint?"

"Almost." Flint took his sword off of the wall where it hanged. "Before we attack Skull Island, I want to make sure we're at full strength. Tauros, increase your production of clockworks. Kyle, I want you to find any of our remaining comrades from when I ruled Skull Island. The rest of us will secure our bargaining chips."

"Sir," Tauros asked, "What will we do to Mr. Silver when he refuses to surrender?" Flint turned to the personality matrix.

"Well," Flint answered, "I'll do the same thing to him that I did to his mother. I'll kill him." Flint turned and walked out the door. "And once that is done, the Spiral will know that Dark Flint Silver has returned."


End file.
